Friday, January 20, 2017

Democrats damning Donald Trump today should remember the Republicans who did the same to Barack Obama — and remember how harmful that was. We’ve got to move past our past political injustices and face our country’s future.

Forty-nine Democrats in the House of Representatives will boycott Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday.
Boy, that will show him!

Many others won’t go, either, and good for them. The streets and subways will be overcrowded anyway.

Of course, I believe we all are responsible for our own actions — or, in this case, non-actions. If some people — even many people — boycott the ceremony on the west side of the Capitol, that is fine. I doubt President-elect Trump will notice.

But like it or not — and many won’t — shortly after noon on Friday, Donald Trump will become our nation’s 45th president.

Now, it is no surprise I am not thrilled with that prospect, but it is what it is. Donald J. Trump shortly will become my president. And he will become president of even those who loudly proclaim, “Not my president.”

Will I always agree with him? Probably not. Will I remain silent when I don’t? Definitely not. But that won’t change the fact that he is my president — our president.

Sorry, my Democratic friends.

It has taken me a long time to reach this point, but after 67 years of life I guess I have mellowed some. Political nonsense no longer entertains me.

I cannot, will not, spend whatever is left of my life fretting over what might happen. I have come to understand how the intense partisanship, not just in politics but in American society as a whole, is harming this country.

It also is harming me. I spent the eight years of the George W. Bush presidency angry at him ... well, at least angry at Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. Everything he and they did made me furious. My insides continuously were tied up in knots.

Then, when Barack Obama became president, I was angry with those who denied his legitimacy, religion and even place of birth. He isn’t a Muslim, but even if he were, that would be OK with me. Clearly, he was born in America, in Hawaii to be exact. I often wonder how great a president he could have been if allowed.

Now, Donald Trump is about to replace him. That’s the way it works in America — and, thankfully, it works so well. I, along with some 130 million other Americans, went to the polls and cast a vote for president. It doesn’t matter how many more votes Hillary Clinton received, because Trump won the most votes were it counts: the Electoral College.

Still, civil rights legend John Lewis, certainly an American hero, says Trump is not a “legitimate” president because of possible, even probable, Russian interference in the election — although there is no evidence that such interference changed or prevented one vote.

Well, I am sorry, Rep. Lewis, but Donald Trump is about to become the legitimate American president, with all the legitimate authority and legitimate powers and legitimate duties that go with the job. I pray he will rise to the position.

At the same time, his cabinet nominees, or at least most of them, soon will be sworn in. I don’t care for most of them, but I figure a president-elect gets to choose whomever he wants, for the most part. As long as they meet the qualifications and aren’t convicted criminals they should be given due deference by the Senate. That isn’t to say they should be rubber stamped or not fully vetted. But partisanship and gotcha politics should not play a role in approving the nominees of this president-to-be or any president, whatever the party.

The same holds true when Donald Trump names people to the Supreme Court. Nominees should be considered on their merits and every nominee at least deserves a full and fair hearing — something not accorded Merrick Garland last year in a shameful display of partisanship. I expect President Trump’s nominees will be more conservative than I would like, but they are his nominees. We have to stop playing tit for tat, blocking nominees of a Republican president because Republicans blocked nominees of a Democratic president.

Democrats damning Donald Trump today should remember the Republicans who did the same to Barack Obama — and remember how harmful that was. We’ve got to move past our past political injustices and face our country’s future.

Yes, I worry about President-elect Trump’s careless and thoughtless remarks. I worry about his thin skin and his obnoxious Tweets. I worry about his obsession with Vladimir Putin.

But we are spending too much time worrying about what he might do or could do — just as many Americans worried about what Barack Obama might do or could do.

Unfortunately, many of them bought into the lies spread about our current president. We must not deal with Trump or future presidents with the same disregard for the truth.

I firmly believe we all are Americans, we all want what is best for this country — even when we disagree over what that is. We must work together, though. We must power through the partisanship, the hard feelings, the entrenched positions and, really, the BS to move America forward.

Those who don’t agree with me are not evil. Because we don’t think alike doesn’t make them bad Americans.

So, no, I am not thrilled that Donald Trump will raise his right hand and take the oath of office on Friday.

But I am much more content, much more relaxed accepting what I cannot change, working to change what I can — and living with whatever we decide as a people.

God bless President Trump and God bless America.

Robert C. Borden

Opinions Editor, The Eagle
Bryan & College Station, Texas

A Message for the 73% of Eligible Voters Who Did Not Vote for Donald Trump.

Please join me in praising the Lord for our accidental president. Accidental and fringe he may be, but he was elected legitimately within a severely flawed system and his greatest attribute – one we should treasure – is that he is “unshackled.” He was elected against the opposition of the two-party tyranny that fronts for Wall Street and the various complexes; he was elected without taking substantial funds from any major donors including Sheldon Adelson and the Koch Brothers; and he was elected without the aid of the wide variety of lobbying firms that spent over a billion dollars for what they thought was a “sure thing” – the election of the most flawed candidate ever to be put before the American public.

Whatever flaws he may have, he is not Hillary Clinton, he is not substantially obligated to anyone (though I am sure he has side deals with Goldman Sachs and Israel and a few others), and he has the power – he has the absolute power – to channel our energy into an Electoral Reform Act of 2017 – a Unity Act – that puts a swing vote in Congress, liberates all Members from corporate money, and makes possible evidence-based governance in the public interest.

May God Bless America.

Robert David Steele

Robert Steele is a former CIA spy, co-creator of the Marine Corps Intelligence Center, and the most published intelligence reformer in the English language. www.robertdavidsteele.com

Trump supporters need only accept the result of an election, as all thinking Americans must. In reality, I'm guessing most Trump supporters would agree that Trump has already accomplished much of what's expected of him, simply based on the fact that Hillary is not President. That alone has half the country exclaiming "mission accomplished". Other than that, illegal immigration has been the cornerstone if his campaign and the issue that has propelled him to office. If blacks can vote for Obama based only on his being black, and women can support Hillary based only on her being female, Trump supporters have absolutely nothing to apologize for in voting for Trump based only on his promise to reduce illegal immigration and deport criminal aliens...Cry all you want, but the only thing illegitimate about this election is the selective outrage of the liberal left as they try to immediately pin all of the country's ills on Trump, while his predecessor spent eight years blaming G.W. Bush.

^ Spoken by a low information voter. The markets are already thriving on just the speculation of great things to come. Please, name one thing, just one, that Bernie accomplished that benefited us working class Vermonters.

Low information? THATS A TRUMP SUPPORTER! Since when did "thriving markets" do anything for the working class of Vermont, or ANY OTHER STATE? The "markets" have been "thriving" for the last eight years, but the wealth just never seems to "trickle down!" Name one thing, JUST ONE, that Trump has done for ANYONE but himself. Have you forgotten the hundreds of investors who LOST EVERYTHING, the dozens of independent contractors HE SCREWED, the thousands of workers who were paid SUB-MINIMUM WAGES? His clothes are made overseas, his buildings are made of Chinese steel, his "college" is a criminal fraud! I have had the "rare privilege" of ACTUALLY KNOWING business people who dealt with "The Donald," AND THOROUGHLY DESPISED HIM! Bernie? I can tell you what he DIDN'T do: ANY OF THESE THINGS! Low information? I KNOW MORE THAN YOU EVER WILL!!!

@ 11:04, safe bet to say you have no college savings or retirement fund in the market and you don't pay for your own health care? Some of us working class Vermonters that fuel this broken system have way too much pride to take hand outs. But what would you know about that? What a true glorious day it is! I'm off to celebrate with friends, (after WORK,) and raise a glass of Maker's Mark!

What makes you conservatives think that you're the only ones who ever worked, paid taxes, or for that matter, served in the military? Because I've done all three. Not that I OWE you an explaination, but for DECADES I busted by butt (and my back) working for a living. And since I come from a "donor state," some of my tax dollars went to pay FOR YOU here in Vermont! So spare me the BS about working and paying, YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE!

Let's see what Trump said we should do after the 2012 presidential election:

"We can't let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided!" - Donald Trump

He's the boss. I guess we'd better follow his advice and example: don't accept the president. Lace up your boots and go march on Washington. Claim the election was fraudulent, say the president is illegitimate, etc. I'm sure Trump voters surely won't have any problem with people doing what Trump himself endorsed and did.

Precisely. Trump is a birther who felt it fitting to call into question the legitimacy of the last president - something that many of his voters felt positively about and applauded as an asset to his character and candidacy. Of course, now he's in office the chant has changed. Incredible.

So when does civil disobedience give people the right to riot, destroy private and public property? Funny isn't it how when Obama was elected, it was a statement for change. The war, crime, healthcare reform all still exist. And now it is okay for the media, and entertainment to attack the families of our elected? Thought the children were off limits. Boy you have got a lot to learn when and where to draw the line. Want to make a statement, how about Leahy, Sanders and Welch. They have you voice, but once again have failed to speak up so the party rallies around them. And Bernie, an Independent? He's a Democrat in hiding. Quit complaining, yelling and making a mockery of your party. Roll up your sleeves, get a job, quit asking for handouts, and maybe you'll have a better time in 4 years. Alice Emmonds, Bob Forguites, Springfield's answer, how about bringing a resolution to the floor, asking for residency requirements for benefits that the State controls, Welfare as it used to be called. Make it a requirement to move into the state, live here for at least 12 months before you can get assistance. NO MORE DRIVE THRU policy. You must work in order to get what you paid for!

"You must work in order to get what you paid for." So, paying for it isn't enough? We all must work to get what we ALREADY PAID FOR? Yeah, that's conservative economics for you; paying for everything twice!

Yes you must. A residency requirement doesn't mean you can't move to Vermont. It means when you move here you can support yourself and your family by your own means. Not on the backs of working, tax paying, law abiding citizens. And how can you say pay twice? If you just move here, you haven't paid Vermont income taxes yet. It isn't up to the government to house, feed, pay for your children. Living and working here for a minimum set time isn't a bad idea. Just like having residency requirements for "our" town employees like school superintendent, police and fire chiefs, highway superintendent, town manager, etc. These requirements are called standards, which we need to raise the bar on. Plus if we can raise the standard maybe we can make it harder for the drug dealers to move here! And that is also being called accountable!

I was being sarcastic, read the quote. I understand the concept of paying for what you get. I ALWAYS HAVE. What bugs me is the assumption that anyone to the left of Ayn Rand DOESN'T! The belief that only conservatives understand work and responsibility is laughable; most of the ones I've known were the FIRST to try to get out of working, especially if they could get a non-conservative to do it! And I've known plenty who recieved goverment assistance, while complaining about "liberals on welfare." You all just seem to think you're somehow more deserving; it's not welfare when YOU get it! By the way, AYN RAND DIED ON WELFARE, so I guess the archetypal conservative was just another "parasite." I agree this town needs to raise its standards, just be careful you don't raise them above your OWN head. I grew up in one of the wealthiest, most conservative parts of America; a place with standards that I GUARANTEE you can't live up to, so be forewarned!

Again, WHAT MAKES YOU CONSERVATIVES THINK YOU'RE THE ONLY ONES WHO WORK AND PAY TAXES? Most of the laziest people I've known were conservatives! They sat around drinking coffee and eating doughnuts while I did all the work. And they screwed up what little they DID do! The only thing they were good at was complaining about "lazy liberals," while they laughed at the "suckers" who actually did the job! SPARE US YOUR SELF-RIGHTOEUS BS, we all know who did the work: WE DID!

Who said Conservatives? I'm tired of the "ENTITLED STATE" abusing a system that makes it too easy for generations to exist on the backs of the working class. "Catch me a fish, I eat today. Teach me to fish, I eat everyday." Not self-righteous, just stating the fact that Vermont has created a system that allows anybody to move into the state, and get benefits that they have not paid into. Benefits that are meant to help someone temporarily who is struggling. Not be a life long income. The only lazy people are the ones NOT willing to work, but take the handouts. Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, it doesn't matter, fair is fair. While we are at it, if you are receiving assistance, you should have to be drug free. Yes drug screen in order to get assistance. And time limits for receiving assistance. Let's raise the standards and give dignity to men and women trying to make it, and make accountable the entitlement society stealing our hard earned money!

The first thing the new House did was hold a midnight vote to abolish the Office of Congressional Ethics. Last week they held another midnight vote to take away $733 million of Obamacare funding-- the "cadillac tax"-- and give it to the 1%. And last week they also voted to end the regulation forbidding insurance companies to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions, which affect 208,000 Vermonters. Riots actually cause less damage than these three votes would.

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Truth! Charlottesville car ramming investigation not limited to the driver
8/13/2017 0 Comments
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​The feds are looking into whether James Alex Fields Jr., the suspect accused of ramming his car into a group of counter-protesters at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., had help planning the alleged attack, a senior Justice Department official familar with the investigation told Fox News on Sunday.
The DOJ has opened a federal civil rights hate crime investigation into Saturday's crash, which killed one person and injured 19 others. "The investigation is not limited to the driver. We will investigate whether others may have been involved in planning the attack," the official said, adding that domestic terrorism charges are possible as well.
Well it looks like the so called driver that killed one person and injured around 20 in Charlottesville, VA may not just be the only person involved in the violent attack. Remember that James Alex Fields Jr.'s name doesn't even come up on the regsistration of the vehicle, as the vehicle registration is registered in Michigan even though it has Ohio plates to Jerome Vangheluwe the father of a Antifa member and anti Trumper Joel Vangheluwe.
Now if you look at Joel's Facebook page, you will see a photo that claims the car as his, so since the investigation now involves more than just the person behind the wheel...It's likely Joel or Jerome Vangheluwe the owners of the car possibly brainwashed James Alex Fields to do the attack. See folks eventually you can connect the dots, and this was likely an ordered hit by the Vangheluwe family in Michigan who could of possibly brainwashed James Alex Fields into this attack as the DOJ is reporting that the driver may not be the only person involved in this horrible incident.